This invention relates to a method, apparatus and receptacle for conveying flat, stacked articles, particularly wafer-like food products, such as cookies, crackers or the like from a grouping (dosing) device to a packing machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,179 discloses the division of confectionery food products into groups of counted articles prior to packaging and to measure the length of the groups. Excessively long or short groups are separated out from the article flow. Subsequent to packaging the completed packages are weighed and the underweight packages eliminated. For setting the number of articles to be counted in one group the package weight is determined by measuring a plurality of packages. Although in this manner the average excess weight of the packages is maintained at a small value, waste occurs continuously.
Particularly the completed, underweight packages are highly inconvenient since they adversely affect the overall efficiency of the operation. These problems are further accentuated in case the weight of the articles fluctuates relatively substantially which in certain types of food products cannot be avoided.